Nokia Testing 6-inch “Bandit” Phablet as Company Prepares “World Premiere” on August 28

Microsoft’s next major update for Windows Phone 8, known as GDR3, brings plenty of new features to the platform, such as rotation lock, Driving Mode, several UI changes and, crucially, support for 1080p displays. Windows Phone evangelists Nokia, it has been revealed, are currently in the midst of internally testing its first ever phablet, codenamed Bandit, featuring a 6-inch Full HD display.

The Bandit phablet, as reported by The Verge, will be powered by an as-yet unconfirmed Qualcomm Snapdragon quad-core processor, and will sport a rear camera that is “at least 20 megapixels”. The polycarbonate chassis will also feature a 808 PureView-esque hump while maintaining a thin and light profile.

Interestingly, The Verge also states that the Bandit device will be the “first of many planned 1080p Windows Phone devices” – it is unclear whether they are by Nokia or other Windows Phone manufacturers.

In addition, Russian site Hi-Tech Mail reports that the Finnish company is also preparing a “World Premiere” event later this month. There is very little to go by from the invite, which features a piano as the background, but it is highly unlikely to be the Bandit phablet given that the GDR3 update is not yet available. There is a chance that Nokia will unveil its first-ever tablet powered by Windows RT – although it may also be a totally different device altogether.